Libyans see their revolution falling off track. Their transitional leader Abdel-Jalil predicts a slide into civil war - or worse, former rebel militias are fighting it out in the streets, pro-Qaddafi forces are returning to the attack, and oil deals are transacted by faceless ministers who offer no accounting to the citizenry.

Many believe "the Islamists" are in control. But no one knows which Islamists.

Behind the grisly images of Muammar Qaddafi's last moments on Thursday, Oct. 20, a quiet contest is afoot between the US and at least two NATO allies, France and Germany, over the credit for his termination and the ending of the alliance's military role in Libya. The episode demonstrated that in the Middle East and North Africa, the Western allies have no compunctions about terminating dictatorships abruptly nor about liberated societies shifting to fundamentalist Islamic regimes committed to Sharia law.

Two CIA agents, one working undercover, were instrumental in opening the doors of Tripoli to the rebels. One was a close Qaddafi confidant called Mahmud Bin Juma'a, the second Khalifa Hafter, spent 25 year in America and is marked for high office.